Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
55 Days!
Tom found a really good deal for Florida residents at Universal's website. A 2 Day/2 Park pass for 63.00 plus tax. I think that's the regular price for a 1 Day/1 Park pass.
It's a limited time offer though...
Too bad it ends in September... that would be perfect for Vera and Steven if they come back in October...
It's a limited time offer though...
Too bad it ends in September... that would be perfect for Vera and Steven if they come back in October...
Thursday, April 20, 2006
No trips in the near future...
But I do have a reservation for my birthday trip to Universal in
June. We'll be spending 3 nights at the Travelodge on International Drive. Hopefully it will be as nice as the Rodeway Inn.
So... the countdown is on!
64 days to go...
Thursday, April 06, 2006
tripadvisor.com
Trip Avisor is a great website for anyone doing research on a future vacation. I always make sure to check out their hotel reviews before making a reservation.
Since I use it so much I decided now was the time to start adding to it... I currently have 3 reviews posted.
Review: Rodeway Inn International
Review: Lion Country Safari KOA
Review: Lion Country Safari
One warning though... some people will complain about ANYTHING... so don't let a few negative reviews spoil your trip. I have stayed at hotels with negative reviews and had a great time... sometimes you just have to find out for yourself.
Since I use it so much I decided now was the time to start adding to it... I currently have 3 reviews posted.
Review: Rodeway Inn International
Review: Lion Country Safari KOA
Review: Lion Country Safari
One warning though... some people will complain about ANYTHING... so don't let a few negative reviews spoil your trip. I have stayed at hotels with negative reviews and had a great time... sometimes you just have to find out for yourself.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Lion Country Safari April 2006
This weekend we visited Lion Country Safari near West Palm Beach, Florida. We rented a Kamping Kabin at the LCS KOA for Tom's birthday.
It was our first time in a KOA Kabin and our first visit to a KOA. The campground was really nice. The bathrooms and shower rooms were very clean and the park staff was extremely nice and helpful. Thanks to the helpful check-in staff that directed us to a nearby Smokey Bones, we had a wonderful dinner before settling in for the night.
One word of warning to anyone spending their first night in one of the Kabins: bring an air mattress... we were glad we did. They do have beds in the kabins, but they are not much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. Our first night was a little rough, but it was our own fault for being too lazy to go out and get our mattress out of the car after trying to sleep for a few hours. The second night was much more comfortable. We inflated the mattress and put it right on top of the kabin bed and slept like babies all night.
We spent Saturday (April 1st) at Lion Country Safari. It was my first trip there and Tom's first trip in about 30 years.
Lion Country Safari opened in 1967 as the nation's first "cageless zoo". LCS is involved in the captive breeding of a number of threatened or endangered species.
The price of admission during our visit was $20.95 per person (plus $3.50 parking fee). For staying at the KOA we each received a $3.00 discount. Still a bit pricey but we knew the price of admission before arriving so we knew what to expect. When you pay your admission you are given a choice of either CD or tape to provide narration throughout your trip. Not having a CD player in the car we chose the tape, which was defective. After listening to about 5 minutes of audio loop through 3 times, trying to fast-forward the tape to a different section and again hearing the same audio we gave up. Our advice is to bring some sort of CD player if you don't already have one in the car.
You start out driving through the safari preserve. Animals are all around you going about their everyday animal business as you drive by. Just remember, they have the right of way... always stop and let them cross.
Our main disappointment in the whole experience is that they now have fences around the actual lion area. So anyone expecting, as we were, to be surrounded by lions during the drive will probably be a little let down. It seems their "cageless zoo" now has at least one really big cage and it just happens to be around their main attraction.
After finishing the safari preserve you come to Safari World, their newest area. It's a walk-through attraction with rides and animal exhibits. The food is really good at the Safari World restaurant. Much better than most "zoo" type food. I wasn't too hungry so I just grabbed a couple corn dogs and fries, but Tom had one of their freshly made Italian subs that looked great.
They have a giraffe feeding station, lots of fish feeding spots, and a petting zoo. We took a really quick ride on the Safari Queen boat. It makes a trip around a couple of islands in Lake Shanalee. Just before we left I stopped by the Carvel ice cream shop for a vanilla cone that really hit the spot.
Before heading back to the campground we took one last drive through the preserve. By this time of the day most of the animals were relaxing in the sun and didn't provide much entertainment. So if you're planning a visit to LCS, take our advice and go as early as possible... gates open at 9:30 am.
For Tom's birthday dinner we went to a nearby restaurant called Boonie's Lounge. After the large Italian sub for lunch, Tom decided to have a light dinner... light meaning the small portion of prime rib and mashed potatoes instead of the large one. I had pork tenderloin and baked potato, and it was delicious. It had this creamy garlic sauce on it that was just great.
After dinner we were both really tired. Still not sure if it was from a busy day out or lack of sleep the night before... either way we turned in early.
I'd say it was a very pleasant trip... except for the whole lion thing.
It was our first time in a KOA Kabin and our first visit to a KOA. The campground was really nice. The bathrooms and shower rooms were very clean and the park staff was extremely nice and helpful. Thanks to the helpful check-in staff that directed us to a nearby Smokey Bones, we had a wonderful dinner before settling in for the night.
One word of warning to anyone spending their first night in one of the Kabins: bring an air mattress... we were glad we did. They do have beds in the kabins, but they are not much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. Our first night was a little rough, but it was our own fault for being too lazy to go out and get our mattress out of the car after trying to sleep for a few hours. The second night was much more comfortable. We inflated the mattress and put it right on top of the kabin bed and slept like babies all night.
We spent Saturday (April 1st) at Lion Country Safari. It was my first trip there and Tom's first trip in about 30 years.
Lion Country Safari opened in 1967 as the nation's first "cageless zoo". LCS is involved in the captive breeding of a number of threatened or endangered species.
The price of admission during our visit was $20.95 per person (plus $3.50 parking fee). For staying at the KOA we each received a $3.00 discount. Still a bit pricey but we knew the price of admission before arriving so we knew what to expect. When you pay your admission you are given a choice of either CD or tape to provide narration throughout your trip. Not having a CD player in the car we chose the tape, which was defective. After listening to about 5 minutes of audio loop through 3 times, trying to fast-forward the tape to a different section and again hearing the same audio we gave up. Our advice is to bring some sort of CD player if you don't already have one in the car.
You start out driving through the safari preserve. Animals are all around you going about their everyday animal business as you drive by. Just remember, they have the right of way... always stop and let them cross.
Our main disappointment in the whole experience is that they now have fences around the actual lion area. So anyone expecting, as we were, to be surrounded by lions during the drive will probably be a little let down. It seems their "cageless zoo" now has at least one really big cage and it just happens to be around their main attraction.
After finishing the safari preserve you come to Safari World, their newest area. It's a walk-through attraction with rides and animal exhibits. The food is really good at the Safari World restaurant. Much better than most "zoo" type food. I wasn't too hungry so I just grabbed a couple corn dogs and fries, but Tom had one of their freshly made Italian subs that looked great.
They have a giraffe feeding station, lots of fish feeding spots, and a petting zoo. We took a really quick ride on the Safari Queen boat. It makes a trip around a couple of islands in Lake Shanalee. Just before we left I stopped by the Carvel ice cream shop for a vanilla cone that really hit the spot.
Before heading back to the campground we took one last drive through the preserve. By this time of the day most of the animals were relaxing in the sun and didn't provide much entertainment. So if you're planning a visit to LCS, take our advice and go as early as possible... gates open at 9:30 am.
For Tom's birthday dinner we went to a nearby restaurant called Boonie's Lounge. After the large Italian sub for lunch, Tom decided to have a light dinner... light meaning the small portion of prime rib and mashed potatoes instead of the large one. I had pork tenderloin and baked potato, and it was delicious. It had this creamy garlic sauce on it that was just great.
After dinner we were both really tired. Still not sure if it was from a busy day out or lack of sleep the night before... either way we turned in early.
I'd say it was a very pleasant trip... except for the whole lion thing.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Next week: Lion Country Safari
We have reservations next weekend at the KOA at Lion Country Safari. It's a little weekend getaway for Tom's birthday.
Stay tuned...
Stay tuned...
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Universal Orlando & MGM - 03/21/06
On Tuesday Vera was feeling sick again and wanted to sleep in. So it's back to Universal for me and Steven. She told us if she felt better in the afternoon she would pick us up because we had actually planned to spend the day at MGM.
Our first stop was Universal and MIB. Steven was on a mission to break the 400,000 point barrier that he had come so close to the day before. It happened on our 2nd and again on our 3rd ride. 449,350 was his top score for the day... his next goal is to break 500,000.
We ended up spending 4 hours at Universal and Islands. She called to say she was on her way not long after we got SOAKED on the Bilge-Rat Barges again. Uh oh! We did get a chance to dry off a bit on the Ice dragon before she picked us up though.
So we're off to MGM and the Rockin Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. It had been quite a few years since we'd been to that park and ridden on what used to be our favorite coaster. Boy were we in for a surprise. I don't know if it was the coaster or us, but we seemed to be moving really SLOW. Maybe it's just that we have been riding the faster coasters at Universal so much this week... but it just wasn't as much fun as we remembered. We gave it one more shot with our fast pass... but it just wasn't as thrilling as it used to be.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is really cool though. I think we got about 7 rides in on that one before the park closed. It's alot better and more scary than it was the last time I was at MGM. Now you never know what's going to happen. Sometimes it starts out dropping you, sometimes it pulls you up first.. it may drop you 3 floors or 1 at a time... it's different every time. Very cool... and Steven actually talked me into letting go of the hand-holds the last few times we rode. It's a very strange feeling just kind of hovering there out of your seat for what seems like an eternity. I keep forgetting to scan our picture... I gotta do that tomorrow...
This was our last night in Orlando. The next day I had to make that long sad bus trip back to Miami... we're planning another trip together in the fall... I can't wait! I really miss getting to spend time with Steven since I moved to Miami so I'm always planning the next trip as soon as the last one is over.
Our first stop was Universal and MIB. Steven was on a mission to break the 400,000 point barrier that he had come so close to the day before. It happened on our 2nd and again on our 3rd ride. 449,350 was his top score for the day... his next goal is to break 500,000.
We ended up spending 4 hours at Universal and Islands. She called to say she was on her way not long after we got SOAKED on the Bilge-Rat Barges again. Uh oh! We did get a chance to dry off a bit on the Ice dragon before she picked us up though.
So we're off to MGM and the Rockin Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. It had been quite a few years since we'd been to that park and ridden on what used to be our favorite coaster. Boy were we in for a surprise. I don't know if it was the coaster or us, but we seemed to be moving really SLOW. Maybe it's just that we have been riding the faster coasters at Universal so much this week... but it just wasn't as much fun as we remembered. We gave it one more shot with our fast pass... but it just wasn't as thrilling as it used to be.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is really cool though. I think we got about 7 rides in on that one before the park closed. It's alot better and more scary than it was the last time I was at MGM. Now you never know what's going to happen. Sometimes it starts out dropping you, sometimes it pulls you up first.. it may drop you 3 floors or 1 at a time... it's different every time. Very cool... and Steven actually talked me into letting go of the hand-holds the last few times we rode. It's a very strange feeling just kind of hovering there out of your seat for what seems like an eternity. I keep forgetting to scan our picture... I gotta do that tomorrow...
This was our last night in Orlando. The next day I had to make that long sad bus trip back to Miami... we're planning another trip together in the fall... I can't wait! I really miss getting to spend time with Steven since I moved to Miami so I'm always planning the next trip as soon as the last one is over.
Universal Orlando - 03/20/06
On Monday Vera felt up to joining us at the parks. We decided to hit Islands first and head straight for the Hulk. It's such a cool coaster, and a really smooth ride. This ride has a total of seven inversions and two subterranean trenches and all in 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
Next we headed for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride. It was the first ever combination of moving, motion-based ride vehicles, 3-D film and live action. It's totally cool.
Dueling Dragons: The Fire dragon and Ice dragon are both equally cool. I personally think the Ice coaster is a smoother ride than Fire. Fire seems to be a much more scary ride for me because while on it I can see more of Ice than the other way around. Each dragon's 2-minute and 25-second flight includes several inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops.
Now it's time to head back to Universal. We had lunch at the Monster Cafe, more MIB training, more mummies, tornados, and JAWS!
We actually made it to the park closing this time. We were in pretty bad shape by the time we got back to the hotel. This theme park life can be rough...
Next we headed for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride. It was the first ever combination of moving, motion-based ride vehicles, 3-D film and live action. It's totally cool.
Dueling Dragons: The Fire dragon and Ice dragon are both equally cool. I personally think the Ice coaster is a smoother ride than Fire. Fire seems to be a much more scary ride for me because while on it I can see more of Ice than the other way around. Each dragon's 2-minute and 25-second flight includes several inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops.
Now it's time to head back to Universal. We had lunch at the Monster Cafe, more MIB training, more mummies, tornados, and JAWS!
We actually made it to the park closing this time. We were in pretty bad shape by the time we got back to the hotel. This theme park life can be rough...
Universal Orlando - 03/19/06
On Sunday the 19th, Vera was sick so it was up to me and Steven to tackle the parks alone. We got up in time to catch the hotel's shuttle to Universal and were on our way at 7:45 am. After making numerous stops at other hotels we finally made it to the entrance gates at around 8:30... unfortunately the parks don't open until 9:00. So we wait...
We had lots of fun on our first full day there. I talked Steven into using the single rider line so we could ride faster. We ended up riding together all but one time anyway. Gotta love that single rider line. Universal Studios was our first stop. Men In Black: Alien Attack is our favorite ride at Universal. The Revenge of the Mummy is very cool. Speaking of cool... ET's Adventure is a great ride to cool off from the hot Florida sun. Twister is also good for that.
We had a great lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then headed for Islands. We went to Dueling Dragons first, then thought better of it... we really weren't interested in losing our lunches so we decided to come back for that later. Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges... we got SOAKED. It was alot of fun though... but did I mention we got soaked? It was nothing that a quick trip on Spider-Man and Hulk wouldn't cure though...
We were pretty tired and since we still had 2 more days to go and weren't in any big hurry we decided to head back to the hotel early. We left the park at 5:00, but weren't sure what time the shuttle would be there to take us to the hotel. I knew there was a 6:15 and 7:15 but wasn't sure about an earlier one. So we decided to walk over to the drop-off point and if it wasn't there by 5:15, we would go back to the park and stay until closing. Luckily it was already there waiting for us. At the hotel we sat by the pool for a little while to cool our tired feet, and then played some video games at the hotel arcade.
Bedtime... got another early start ahead of us tomorrow...
We had lots of fun on our first full day there. I talked Steven into using the single rider line so we could ride faster. We ended up riding together all but one time anyway. Gotta love that single rider line. Universal Studios was our first stop. Men In Black: Alien Attack is our favorite ride at Universal. The Revenge of the Mummy is very cool. Speaking of cool... ET's Adventure is a great ride to cool off from the hot Florida sun. Twister is also good for that.
We had a great lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then headed for Islands. We went to Dueling Dragons first, then thought better of it... we really weren't interested in losing our lunches so we decided to come back for that later. Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges... we got SOAKED. It was alot of fun though... but did I mention we got soaked? It was nothing that a quick trip on Spider-Man and Hulk wouldn't cure though...
We were pretty tired and since we still had 2 more days to go and weren't in any big hurry we decided to head back to the hotel early. We left the park at 5:00, but weren't sure what time the shuttle would be there to take us to the hotel. I knew there was a 6:15 and 7:15 but wasn't sure about an earlier one. So we decided to walk over to the drop-off point and if it wasn't there by 5:15, we would go back to the park and stay until closing. Luckily it was already there waiting for us. At the hotel we sat by the pool for a little while to cool our tired feet, and then played some video games at the hotel arcade.
Bedtime... got another early start ahead of us tomorrow...
Universal Orlando - 03/18/06
On March 18th I took a trip to Orlando, FL to meet up with my sister and nephew and spend a few days at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
My vacation began at 7:05 am on a Greyhound bus in Miami. Not my favorite way to start a vacation but on this trip it wasn't so bad. The worst part was the 20.00 cab ride from the bus station to the hotel. Ouch!
I arrived in Orlando at the Rodeway Inn International at around 1:00 pm and since Vera and Steven were still quite a few hours away I decided to head on over to Universal to pick up my season pass and get my picture taken. It actually turned out to be a good thing that I did since it took almost 2 hours just to get the pass and picture done. It was extremely busy at the park that day because Universal is celebrating Mardi Gras every Saturday in February, March and April.
By 3:00 I was ready to start having fun. I got in line for The Incredible Hulk Coaster and after about 30 minutes they started announcing "technical difficulties". After about 15 minutes of hearing that announcement I decided to head over to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride. I've got 4 days to catch up with the Hulk, so I'm in no hurry...
This was my first time at a theme park alone so I had forgotten that Universal and Islands had single rider lines with much shorter wait times. I realized it only after I had been in the Spider-Man line for 30 minutes. Oh well... next time I'll know. So immediately after finishing the first ride I skipped on through the single rider line and 5 minutes later I was riding again. MUCH better than waiting 45 minutes the first time... trust me, no matter how fun a ride is... nothing is fun enough to wait 45 minutes for.
So I spent a couple hours at Islands then went over to Universal for a while. I had dinner at The Monster Cafe and hit some more rides. Men In Black is always fun, and The Revenge of the Mummy is really cool. The park closed at 8:00 that night so I started heading for the taxi area around 7:30 and was back at the hotel pretty quick. I relaxed for a bit while I waited for Vera and Steven to show up. They arrived at around 10:30 and soon we got to bed so we could get an early start on Sunday.
My vacation began at 7:05 am on a Greyhound bus in Miami. Not my favorite way to start a vacation but on this trip it wasn't so bad. The worst part was the 20.00 cab ride from the bus station to the hotel. Ouch!
I arrived in Orlando at the Rodeway Inn International at around 1:00 pm and since Vera and Steven were still quite a few hours away I decided to head on over to Universal to pick up my season pass and get my picture taken. It actually turned out to be a good thing that I did since it took almost 2 hours just to get the pass and picture done. It was extremely busy at the park that day because Universal is celebrating Mardi Gras every Saturday in February, March and April.
By 3:00 I was ready to start having fun. I got in line for The Incredible Hulk Coaster and after about 30 minutes they started announcing "technical difficulties". After about 15 minutes of hearing that announcement I decided to head over to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride. I've got 4 days to catch up with the Hulk, so I'm in no hurry...
This was my first time at a theme park alone so I had forgotten that Universal and Islands had single rider lines with much shorter wait times. I realized it only after I had been in the Spider-Man line for 30 minutes. Oh well... next time I'll know. So immediately after finishing the first ride I skipped on through the single rider line and 5 minutes later I was riding again. MUCH better than waiting 45 minutes the first time... trust me, no matter how fun a ride is... nothing is fun enough to wait 45 minutes for.
So I spent a couple hours at Islands then went over to Universal for a while. I had dinner at The Monster Cafe and hit some more rides. Men In Black is always fun, and The Revenge of the Mummy is really cool. The park closed at 8:00 that night so I started heading for the taxi area around 7:30 and was back at the hotel pretty quick. I relaxed for a bit while I waited for Vera and Steven to show up. They arrived at around 10:30 and soon we got to bed so we could get an early start on Sunday.
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